In an effort to create Indias own knowledge base and generate data and services related to climate change,the Prime Ministers Council on Climate Change,the governments top-most advisory body on climate change on Tuesday gave in-principle approval to the National Mission on Strategic Knowledge. It is a Rs 2200-crore project aimed at promoting indigenous research and development and capacity-building in this field. The mission on strategic knowledge is one of the eight missions launched by the government under its National Action Plan on Climate Change. It is the third after the Solar Mission and the one on energy efficiency to have been approved by the Council. The mission aims to fill the big void that exists in indigenous knowledge on climate change. Most of the predictions relating to global warming on India are based on studies done by scientists and researchers in other countries and are not customised for India. The Mission on Strategic Knowledge seeks to correct this imbalance by promoting research that will produce more accurate data. As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself stressed at the meeting,it was necessary to have the ability to prepare and read scientific data related to climate change. The meeting emphasised the importance of building a vibrant and dynamic knowledge system for effectively promoting ecologically sustainable development. The Mission,therefore,is being envisaged as an overarching platform that will provide data and services to all the other missions so that they are able to move forward with a more focused approach. The mission proposes new institutions to initiate research in areas where there is a knowledge gap and in areas where Indias traditional knowledge is weak,the existing institutions will be strengthened. Simultaneously,the government is also moving to bring in a comprehensive and transparent data sharing policy that will allow various ministries and departments working on climate change to coordinate with each other. An Empowered Group of Ministers entrusted with the job of finalising this policy is expected to complete its job in the next few weeks. The mission document,submitted by the Ministry of Science and Technology,has proposed an investment of Rs 75 crore for the first two years. However,for the next plan period,when a number of new institutions are proposed to be set up and research in existing scientific institutions scaled up,it has projected an investment of Rs 2200 crore. Some members called for a greater role for private sector in knowledge creation and dissemination.
